House ending session early as Republicans clash over Epstein vote

WASHINGTON AP House Speaker Mike Johnson is rebuffing pressure to act on the scrutiny into Jeffrey Epstein instead sending members home early for a month-long break from Washington after the week s legislative agenda was upended by Republican members who are clamoring for a vote Johnson a Republican from Louisiana announced Tuesday morning that he wants to give the White House space to release the Epstein information on its own despite the bipartisan push for provision that aims to force the release of more documents There s no purpose for the Congress to push an administration to do something they re already doing Johnson announced at his weekly news conference his last before lawmakers depart Washington on Wednesday for their traditional August recess The speaker s stance did little to alleviate the intra-party turmoil unfolding on Capitol Hill as countless of President Donald Trump s supporters demand that the administration meet its promises to publicly release a full accounting of the sex trafficking inquiry into Epstein who killed himself in his New York jail cell in while awaiting trial Under pressure from right-wing online influencers as well as voters back home rank-and-file Republicans are demanding that the House intervene in the matter The community s not going to let this die and rightfully so declared Rep Ralph Norman a South Carolina Republican Will Ghislaine Maxwell s deposition happen Even before Johnson spoke Tuesday morning the powerful House Committee on Oversight was advancing a resolution to subpoena Epstein s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell for a deposition The Republican chair of the committee Rep James Comer of Kentucky noted there will be a negotiation with Maxwell s attorney over the terms of the deposition and that it could happen at the prison where she is serving a lengthy sentence for helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls The Justice Department also indicated Tuesday it was separately seeking to interview Maxwell While Democrats on the House Oversight Committee supported the action the top Democrat on the committee Rep Robert Garcia of California warned that her testimony should be treated with skepticism We should be looking and continue to push for a full release of the files Garcia narrated reporters I think it s central for people to know that she obviously is a documented liar and someone that has caused enormous harm to young girls and women Trump didn t address the issue during a reception for House Republicans at the White House on Tuesday night but heaped praise on Johnson saying he would go down as one of the great speakers at any time in history In remarks alongside Trump Johnson made no mention of it either Speaker Johnson s control of the House is under threat Johnson decided to end the House s legislative business early this week after he essentially lost control of the powerful House Rules Committee which sends bills to the floor for debates and votes Late Monday evening business on that panel ground to a halt when the Republicans on the committee abruptly recessed proceedings rather than vulnerability more proposals from Democrats pushing them to release Epstein files Republicans had teed up votes on act to increase penalties for immigrants who enter the country illegally to ease permitting for water infrastructure and to roll back several Biden-era regulations All those bills were put on hold at least until after the August recess Frustration in the House has been running high since last week when Republican leaders signaled feasible help for a vote on the Epstein files as they raced to pass a billion package of spending cuts Johnson unveiled a resolution that has no legal weight but would urge the Justice Department to produce more documentation Trump meanwhile has questioned Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the release of testimony from secret grand jury proceedings in the event though that effort is unlikely to produce new revelations Echoing Trump s position Johnson insisted he too wants the files disclosed but only those that are credible Johnson who has relied heavily on Trump to hold onto leadership in the House cast the president s reticence to release information as out of concern for the casualties of Epstein We have a moral responsibility to expose the evil of Epstein and everybody who was involved in that absolutely and we re resolved to do it Johnson noted But we also have an equal moral responsibility to protect the innocent and that is a fine needle to thread In the Senate Majority Leader John Thune R-S D also notified reporters he deduced Trump and Bondi would make the right decisions on the files but opened the door to committees examining the matter Epstein has become a political wedge among GOP Even with the month-long break the pressure on Johnson is unlikely to end Rep Thomas Massie a Republican whose contrarian stances are often a thorn in the side of leadership is gathering sponsorship for a legislative maneuver to force the bipartisan bill to a House vote even without leadership s consent Now there are a lot of people here in the swamp who think that Oh well if we spend five weeks on vacation the pressure for this will dissipate I don t think it s going to dissipate Massie recounted reporters Monday evening Democrats have watched it all unfold with glee and worked to inflame the conflict among Republicans by making their own calls for transparency on the Epstein assessment They have repeatedly tried to force votes on the matter casting it as an issue of trust in the ruling body It s about transparency in regime It s about whose side are you on Are you on the side of the rich and powerful protecting men Or are you on the side of young girls and America s children mentioned Rep Ro Khanna the California Democrat who put forward the measure alongside Massie Epstein sexually abused children hundreds of times over more than a decade exploiting vulnerable girls as young as officials say He couldn t have done so without the help of Maxwell his longtime companion prosecutors contend Massie noted the affair is palpable enough to carry essential political consequences This will be an issue that does follow Republicans through the midterms and it will follow each individual Republican through the midterms It will follow people into their primaries Did you aid transparency and justice or did you come up here get elected and fall into the swamp he narrated reporters He added I think it is a watershed moment for the speaker of the House and the president Follow the AP s coverage of the Jeffrey Epstein event at https apnews com hub jeffrey-epstein